Tag Archives: book review

Sad and lonely after the deaths of her father and younger siblings, Story finds herself visiting one of her childhood romps, a cave she used to visit with her family. In a headstrong moment, she forgets the cardinal rules of spelunking and falls down into a deep chasm. Finding a way out, she finds herself in Ailionara, a world in which elves, gnomes, faeries, and dryads are real…and humans are myth.

Janine K. Spendlove’s War of the Seasons: The Human brings a lovely blend of Celtic lore and YA fantasy while full of beautiful Celtic names. The reluctant heroine provides a nice change to traditional masculine leads in the genre, with a romance that is only a tertiary line, as opposed to love struck girl mooning over a mythological man. While a bit flat at first, Story’s character grows as the book gains momentum, driving the reader to the finish. If you like books such as Inheritance Cycle (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, Inheritance) and Progeny: The Children of the White Lions, you won’t want to miss checking out this up-and-coming author who only promises to be better with the next book in the series.

Disclaimer: A copy of this book was provided by the author.

For more information about War of the Seasons or the author, check out Ailionara.

He never claimed to be the missing Cassiel. He just neglected to deny it. Given the choice between being a nobody, nameless and homeless, or being a somebody, with everything you’ve never had, who wouldn’t hesitate? However, pretending to be someone else isn’t easy, especially when no one is who they seem.

Jenny Valentine’s young adult novel, Double (available for purchase tomorrow), begs the reader to ponder the essence of a person’s character – what defines a person and how that affects, or is affected by, an individual’s choices. Slow to build momentum, plot turns in the later portions of the book are certain to build suspense. Many of the characters seem lacking in dimension, but Chap’s struggles with ethical and moral decisions help readers identify with him. Despite annoying changes in tense during parts of the book, Double is an enjoyable book for teens and may lead to discussions.

Like this:

After fleeing a dying Earth, humans were divided into two classes: trueborns, who had money to buy passage on the ship to the new world, and lowborns, who had to work for their passage. In order to elevate the classes and create a working force, tankborns were created. Tankborns, genetically engineered non-humans (GENs), are created with specific skill sets (skets) to serve those who deem them inferior, virtual slaves with no rights. But what makes a human?

Karen Sandler’s Tankborn addresses topics of racism, classism, friendship, humanity, and more in this non-traditional dystopian novel for middle grade/young adults. Tankborn is science fiction for the next generation.

It’s hard to have a normal life when your parents are paranormal investigators. Charlotte’s mother is in a coma after a previous encounter with The Watcher. Her father and sister are struggling to live, the business if falling apart, and Charlotte is left floundering, trying to hold it together and spend time with her boyfriend who is becoming more secretive each day.

Mara Purnhagen’s Beyond the Grave is the third and final book in her Past Midnight series. The book is strong enough to stand alone for those of us who haven’t read her earlier novels, but the characters seem a bit flat and the build up and discovery drags. Luckily, the action at the end mostly makes up for the slow clues.

Polly Furnas had a plan. Graduate highschool. Marry her sweetheart. Go to college, and have children. MSRA was not in the plan. Neither was spending weeks in the hospital and loosing her eye. Somehow, out of everyone in her hometown who survived the infection, she survived, along with a fellow highschooler, Odd. Now she has a choice. She can lie around wallowing in self-pity or take Odd’s offer for a fishing trip. She can choose to fight to live or slowly die inside her new body. Plans change.

Blythe Woolston’s Catch & Release is interesting, a bit disturbing, and just perfect for analyzing our views and anger. With writing and a story line that gets under your skin, Woolston wraps it up with Odd’s letters to his grandmother, effectively putting a balm on the infected story. A new book with merit for discussing what we make of life and those around us, Catch & Release is certain to find its own among teens looking for something out of the ordinary.

Julianna Baggott’snew young adult dystopian novel, Pure,promises to deliver. Touted as the new The Hunger Games Trilogy and with movie rights already sold for the first novel, the hype is indicative of a best selling book.

Baggot’s descriptive writing pulls the reader in, and the premise behind the book is horrifying. Atomic bombs, set by those wanting to purify the Earth, have drastically changed the world. Secret agendas abound and the main character, a strong female lead, starts out strong. However, after the initial chapters, the book seems to be carried by remaining momentum rather than driving to a capitulating climax.

My main complaint, and one that I can’t let go of, is that the science in the book moves is so far removed to make the book fantasy rather than science fiction. With all of its promises and good points, for me the book failed to deliver.

The book comes out today, so yu can pick up your own copy and see what you think of it.

Disclaimer: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.

Having been abandoned in a mental hospital as a child for her strange visions, Grace now keeps to herself. Using her premonitions for a greater good, she works as a private investigator, locating missing children. When a strange creature crosses her path, causing her to crash her car during a simple search for a missing little girl, her life begins to take a turn. She suddenly finds herself immersed in old Norse myths with people who claim she is one of them.

Eleri Stone’s Demon Crossings is a lovely paranormal romance with a twist on the typical demons found in the genre. The story line progressed throughout the book, setting up possible subsequent books based on the well developed characters, which in all honesty, make the book what it is.